The Deerslayer

by James Fenimore Cooper

  Chapter XVIII

  "Thus died she; never more on her Shall sorrow light, or shame. She was not made Through years or moons the inner weight to bear, Which colder hearts endure till they are laid By age in earth; her days and pleasure were Brief but delightful--such as had not stayed Long with her destiny; but she sleeps well By the sea-shore whereon she loved to dwell."

  Byron. Don Juan, IV, lxxi.

  The young men who had been sent out to reconnoitre, on the suddenappearance of Hetty, soon returned to report their want of success inmaking any discovery. One of them had even been along the beach asfar as the spot opposite to the ark, but the darkness had completelyconcealed that vessel from his notice. Others had examined in differentdirections, and everywhere the stillness of night was added to thesilence and solitude of the woods.

  It was consequently believed that the girl had come alone, as on herformer visit, and on some similar errand. The Iroquois were ignorantthat the ark had left the castle, and there were movements projected, ifnot in the course of actual execution, by this time, which also greatlyadded to the sense of security. A watch was set, therefore, and all butthe sentinels disposed themselves to sleep. Sufficient care was hadto the safe keeping of the captive, without inflicting on him anyunnecessary suffering; and, as for Hetty, she was permitted to find aplace among the Indian girls in the best manner she could. She didnot find the friendly offices of Hist, though her character not onlybestowed impunity from pain and captivity, but it procured for her aconsideration and an attention that placed her, on the score of comfort,quite on a level with the wild but gentle beings around her. She wassupplied with a skin, and made her own bed on a pile of boughs a littleapart from the huts. Here she was soon in a profound sleep, like allaround her.

  There were now thirteen men in the party, and three kept watch at atime. One remained in shadow, not far from the fire, however. His dutywas to guard the captive, to take care that the fire neither blazed upso as to illuminate the spot, nor yet became wholly extinguished, and tokeep an eye generally on the state of the camp. Another passed from onebeach to the other, crossing the base of the point, while the third keptmoving slowly around the strand on its outer extremity, to prevent arepetition of the surprise that had already taken place that night. Thisarrangement was far from being usual among savages, who ordinarilyrely more on the secrecy of their movements, than on vigilance ofthis nature; but it had been called for by the peculiarity of thecircumstances in which the Hurons were now placed. Their position wasknown to their foes, and it could not easily be changed at an hour whichdemanded rest. Perhaps, too, they placed most of their confidence on theknowledge of what they believed to be passing higher up the lake, andwhich, it was thought, would fully occupy the whole of the pale-faceswho were at liberty, with their solitary Indian ally. It was alsoprobable Rivenoak was aware that, in holding his captive, he had in hisown hands the most dangerous of all his enemies.

  The precision with which those accustomed to watchfulness, or livesof disturbed rest, sleep, is not the least of the phenomena of ourmysterious being. The head is no sooner on the pillow than consciousnessis lost; and yet, at a necessary hour, the mind appears to arouse thebody, as promptly as if it had stood sentinel the while over it. Therecan be no doubt that they who are thus roused awake by the influenceof thought over matter, though the mode in which this influence isexercised must remain hidden from our curiosity until it shall beexplained, should that hour ever arrive, by the entire enlightenment ofthe soul on the subject of all human mysteries. Thus it was with HettyHutter. Feeble as the immaterial portion of her existence was thoughtto be, it was sufficiently active to cause her to open her eyes atmidnight. At that hour she awoke, and leaving her bed of skin and boughsshe walked innocently and openly to the embers of the fire, stirring thelatter, as the coolness of the night and the woods, in connection withan exceedingly unsophisticated bed, had a little chilled her. As theflame shot up, it lighted the swarthy countenance of the Huron on watch,whose dark eyes glistened under its light like the balls of the pantherthat is pursued to his den with burning brands. But Hetty felt no fear,and she approached the spot where the Indian stood. Her movementswere so natural, and so perfectly devoid of any of the stealthiness ofcunning or deception, that he imagined she had merely arisen on accountof the coolness of the night, a common occurrence in a bivouac, and theone of all others, perhaps, the least likely to excite suspicion. Hettyspoke to him, but he understood no English. She then gazed near a minuteat the sleeping captive, and moved slowly away in a sad and melancholymanner. The girl took no pains to conceal her movements. Any ingeniousexpedient of this nature quite likely exceeded her powers; stillher step was habitually light, and scarcely audible. As she took thedirection of the extremity of the point, or the place where she hadlanded in the first adventure, and where Hist had embarked, the sentinelsaw her light form gradually disappear in the gloom without uneasinessor changing his own position. He knew that others were on the look-out,and he did not believe that one who had twice come into the campvoluntarily, and had already left it openly, would take refuge inflight. In short, the conduct of the girl excited no more attentionthat that of any person of feeble intellect would excite in civilizedsociety, while her person met with more consideration and respect.

  Hetty certainly had no very distinct notions of the localities, but shefound her way to the beach, which she reached on the same side of thepoint as that on which the camp had been made. By following the marginof the water, taking a northern direction, she soon encountered theIndian who paced the strand as sentinel. This was a young warrior, andwhen he heard her light tread coming along the gravel he approachedswiftly, though with anything but menace in his manner. The darkness wasso intense that it was not easy to discover forms within the shadowsof the woods at the distance of twenty feet, and quite impossible todistinguish persons until near enough to touch them. The young Huronmanifested disappointment when he found whom he had met; for, truth tosay, he was expecting his favourite, who had promised to relieve theennui of a midnight watch with her presence. This man was also ignorantof English, but he was at no loss to understand why the girl should beup at that hour. Such things were usual in an Indian village and camp,where sleep is as irregular as the meals. Then poor Hetty's knownimbecility, as in most things connected with the savages, stood herfriend on this occasion. Vexed at his disappointment, and impatient ofthe presence of one he thought an intruder, the young warrior signedfor the girl to move forward, holding the direction of the beach. Hettycomplied; but as she walked away she spoke aloud in English in her usualsoft tones, which the stillness of the night made audible at some littledistance.

  "If you took me for a Huron girl, warrior," she said, "I don't wonderyou are so little pleased. I am Hetty Hutter, Thomas Hutter's daughter,and have never met any man at night, for mother always said it waswrong, and modest young women should never do it; modest young women ofthe pale-faces, I mean; for customs are different in different partsof the world, I know. No, no; I'm Hetty Hutter, and wouldn't meet evenHurry Harry, though he should fall down on his knees and ask me! Mothersaid it was wrong."

  By the time Hetty had said this, she reached the place where the canoeshad come ashore, and, owing to the curvature of the land and the bushes,would have been completely hid from the sight of the sentinel, had itbeen broad day. But another footstep had caught the lover's ear, and hewas already nearly beyond the sound of the girl's silvery voice. StillHetty, bent only on her own thoughts and purposes, continued to speak,though the gentleness of her tones prevented the sounds from penetratingfar into the woods. On the water they were more widely diffused.

  "Here I am, Judith," she added, "and there is no one near me. The Huronon watch has gone to meet his sweetheart, who is an Indian girl youknow, and never had a Christian mother to tell her how wrong it is tomeet a man at night."

  Hetty's voice was hushed by a "Hist!" that came from the water, and thenshe caught a dim view of the canoe, which approa
ched noiselessly, andsoon grated on the shingle with its bow. The moment the weight of Hettywas felt in the light craft the canoe withdrew, stern foremost, as ifpossessed of life and volition, until it was a hundred yards from theshore. Then it turned and, making a wide sweep, as much to prolong thepassage as to get beyond the sound of voices, it held its way towardsthe ark. For several minutes nothing was uttered; but, believing herselfto be in a favourable position to confer with her sister, Judith, whoalone sat in the stern, managing the canoe with a skill little short ofthat of a man, began a discourse which she had been burning to commenceever since they had quitted the point.

  "Here we are safe, Hetty," she said, "and may talk without the fear ofbeing overheard. You must speak low, however, for sounds are heard faron the water in a still night. I was so close to the point some of thetime while you were on it, that I have heard the voices of the warriors,and I heard your shoes on the gravel of the beach, even before youspoke."

  "I don't believe, Judith, the Hurons know I have left them."

  "Quite likely they do not, for a lover makes a poor sentry, unless it beto watch for his sweetheart! But tell me, Hetty, did you see and speakwith Deerslayer?"

  "Oh, yes--there he was seated near the fire, with his legs tied, thoughthey left his arms free, to move them as he pleased."

  "Well, what did he tell you, child? Speak quick; I am dying to know whatmessage he sent me."

  "What did he tell me? why, what do you think, Judith; he told me that hecouldn't read! Only think of that! a white man, and not know how to readhis Bible even! He never could have had a mother, sister!"

  "Never mind that, Hetty. All men can't read; though mother knew so muchand taught us so much, father knows very little about books, and he canbarely read the Bible you know."

  "Oh! I never thought fathers could read much, but mothers ought allto read, else how can they teach their children? Depend on it, Judith,Deerslayer could never have had a mother, else he would know how toread."

  "Did you tell him I sent you ashore, Hetty, and how much concern I feelfor his misfortune?" asked the other, impatiently.

  "I believe I did, Judith; but you know I am feeble-minded, and I mayhave forgotten. I did tell him you brought me ashore. And he told me agreat deal that I was to say to you, which I remember well, for it mademy blood run cold to hear him. He told me to say that his friends--Isuppose you are one of them, sister?"

  "How can you torment me thus, Hetty! Certainly, I am one of the truestfriends he has on earth."

  "Torment you! yes, now I remember all about it. I am glad you used thatword, Judith, for it brings it all back to my mind. Well, he saidhe might be tormented by the savages, but he would try to bear it asbecomes a Christian white man, and that no one need be afeard--why doesDeerslayer call it afeard, when mother always taught us to say afraid?"

  "Never mind, dear Hetty, never mind that, now," cried the other, almostgasping for breath. "Did Deerslayer really tell you that he thought thesavages would put him to the torture? Recollect now, well, Hetty, forthis is a most awful and serious thing."

  "Yes he did; and I remember it by your speaking about my tormenting you.Oh! I felt very sorry for him, and Deerslayer took all so quietly andwithout noise! Deerslayer is not as handsome as Hurry Harry, Judith, buthe is more quiet."

  "He's worth a million Hurrys! yes, he's worth all the young men whoever came upon the lake put together," said Judith, with an energy andpositiveness that caused her sister to wonder. "He is true. There is nolie about Deerslayer. You, Hetty, may not know what a merit it is in aman to have truth, but when you get--no--I hope you will never knowit. Why should one like you be ever made to learn the hard lesson todistrust and hate!"

  Judith bowed her face, dark as it was, and unseen as she must have beenby any eye but that of Omniscience, between her hands, and groaned. Thissudden paroxysm of feeling, however, lasted but for a moment, and shecontinued more calmly, still speaking frankly to her sister, whoseintelligence, and whose discretion in any thing that related to herself,she did not in the least distrust. Her voice, however, was low andhusky, instead of having its former clearness and animation.

  "It is a hard thing to fear truth, Hetty," she said, "and yet do I moredread Deerslayer's truth, than any enemy! One cannot tamper with suchtruth--so much honesty--such obstinate uprightness! But we are notaltogether unequal, sister--Deerslayer and I? He is not altogether mysuperior?"

  It was not usual for Judith so far to demean herself as to appeal toHetty's judgment. Nor did she often address her by the title of sister,a distinction that is commonly given by the junior to the senior, evenwhere there is perfect equality in all other respects. As triflingdepartures from habitual deportment oftener strike the imagination thanmore important changes, Hetty perceived the circumstances, and wonderedat them in her own simple way. Her ambition was a little quickened,and the answer was as much out of the usual course of things as thequestion; the poor girl attempting to refine beyond her strength.

  "Superior, Judith!" she repeated with pride. "In what can Deerslayerbe your superior? Are you not mother's child--and does he know how toread--and wasn't mother before any woman in all this part of the world?I should think, so far from supposing himself your superior, he wouldhardly believe himself mine. You are handsome, and he is ugly--"

  "No, not ugly, Hetty," interrupted Judith. "Only plain. But his honestface has a look in it that is far better than beauty. In my eyes,Deerslayer is handsomer than Hurry Harry."

  "Judith Hutter! you frighten me. Hurry is the handsomest mortal in theworld--even handsomer than you are yourself; because a man's good looks,you know, are always better than a woman's good looks."

  This little innocent touch of natural taste did not please the eldersister at the moment, and she did not scruple to betray it. "Hetty, younow speak foolishly, and had better say no more on this subject," sheanswered. "Hurry is not the handsomest mortal in the world, by many;and there are officers in the garrisons--" Judith stammered at thewords--"there are officers in the garrisons, near us, far comelier thanhe. But why do you think me the equal of Deerslayer--speak of that, forI do not like to hear you show so much admiration of a man like HurryHarry, who has neither feelings, manners, nor conscience. You are toogood for him, and he ought to be told it, at once."

  "I! Judith, how you forget! Why I am not beautiful, and amfeeble-minded."

  "You are good, Hetty, and that is more than can be said of Harry March.He may have a face, and a body, but he has no heart. But enough of this,for the present. Tell me what raises me to an equality with Deerslayer."

  "To think of you asking me this, Judith! He can't read, and you can. Hedon't know how to talk, but speaks worse than Hurry even;--for, sister,Harry doesn't always pronounce his words right! Did you ever noticethat?"

  "Certainly, he is as coarse in speech as in everything else. But I fearyou flatter me, Hetty, when you think I can be justly called the equalof a man like Deerslayer. It is true, I have been better taught; inone sense am more comely; and perhaps might look higher; but then histruth--his truth--makes a fearful difference between us! Well, I willtalk no more of this; and we will bethink us of the means of gettinghim out of the hands of the Hurons. We have father's chest in the ark,Hetty, and might try the temptation of more elephants; though I fearsuch baubles will not buy the liberty of a man like Deerslayer. I amafraid father and Hurry will not be as willing to ransom Deerslayer, asDeerslayer was to ransom them!"

  "Why not, Judith? Hurry and Deerslayer are friends, and friends shouldalways help one another."

  "Alas! poor Hetty, you little know mankind! Seeming friends are oftenmore to be dreaded than open enemies; particularly by females. Butyou'll have to land in the morning, and try again what can be done forDeerslayer. Tortured he shall not be, while Judith Hutter lives, and canfind means to prevent it."

  The conversation now grew desultory, and was drawn out, until theelder sister had extracted from the younger every fact that the feeblefaculties of the latter permitted her to
retain, and to communicate.When Judith was satisfied--though she could never be said to besatisfied, whose feelings seemed to be so interwoven with all thatrelated to the subject, as to have excited a nearly inappeasablecuriosity--but, when Judith could think of no more questions to ask,without resorting to repetition, the canoe was paddled towards the scow.The intense darkness of the night, and the deep shadows which thehills and forest cast upon the water, rendered it difficult to find thevessel, anchored, as it had been, as close to the shore as a regard tosafety rendered prudent. Judith was expert in the management of a barkcanoe, the lightness of which demanded skill rather than strength; andshe forced her own little vessel swiftly over the water, the moment shehad ended her conference with Hetty, and had come to the determinationto return. Still no ark was seen. Several times the sisters fancied theysaw it, looming up in the obscurity, like a low black rock; but on eachoccasion it was found to be either an optical illusion, or some swell ofthe foliage on the shore. After a search that lasted half an hour, thegirls were forced to the unwelcome conviction that the ark had departed.Most young women would have felt the awkwardness of their situation,in a physical sense, under the circumstances in which the sisters wereleft, more than any apprehensions of a different nature. Not so withJudith, however; and even Hetty felt more concern about the motives thatmight have influenced her father and Hurry, than any fears for her ownsafety.

  "It cannot be, Hetty," said Judith, when a thorough search had satisfiedthem both that no ark was to be found; "it cannot be that the Indianshave rafted, or swum off and surprised our friends as they slept?"

  "I don't believe that Hist and Chingachgook would sleep until they hadtold each other all they had to say after so long a separation--do you,sister?"

  "Perhaps not, child. There was much to keep them awake, but one Indianmay have been surprised even when not asleep, especially as his thoughtsmay have been on other things. Still we should have heard a noise; forin a night like this, an oath of Hurry Harry's would have echoed in theeastern hills like a clap of thunder."

  "Hurry is sinful and thoughtless about his words, Judith," Hetty meeklyand sorrowfully answered.

  "No--no; 'tis impossible the ark could be taken and I not hear thenoise. It is not an hour since I left it, and the whole time I have beenattentive to the smallest sound. And yet, it is not easy to believe afather would willingly abandon his children!"

  "Perhaps father has thought us in our cabin asleep, Judith, and hasmoved away to go home. You know we often move the ark in the night."

  "This is true, Hetty, and it must be as you suppose. There is a littlemore southern air than there was, and they have gone up the lake--"Judith stopped, for, as the last word was on her tongue, the scene wassuddenly lighted, though only for a single instant, by a flash. Thecrack of a rifle succeeded, and then followed the roll of the echo alongthe eastern mountains. Almost at the same moment a piercing femalecry rose in the air in a prolonged shriek. The awful stillness thatsucceeded was, if possible, more appalling than the fierce and suddeninterruption of the deep silence of midnight. Resolute as she was bothby nature and habit, Judith scarce breathed, while poor Hetty hid herface and trembled.

  "That was a woman's cry, Hetty," said the former solemnly, "and it wasa cry of anguish! If the ark has moved from this spot it can only havegone north with this air, and the gun and shriek came from the point.Can any thing have befallen Hist?"

  "Let us go and see, Judith; she may want our assistance--for, besidesherself, there are none but men in the ark."

  It was not a moment for hesitation, and ere Judith had ceased speakingher paddle was in the water. The distance to the point, in a directline, was not great, and the impulses under which the girls worked weretoo exciting to allow them to waste the precious moments in uselessprecautions. They paddled incautiously for them, but the same excitementkept others from noting their movements. Presently a glare of lightcaught the eye of Judith through an opening in the bushes, and steeringby it, she so directed the canoe as to keep it visible, while she got asnear the land as was either prudent or necessary.

  The scene that was now presented to the observation of the girls waswithin the woods, on the side of the declivity so often mentioned, andin plain view from the boat. Here all in the camp were collected, somesix or eight carrying torches of fat-pine, which cast a strong butfunereal light on all beneath the arches of the forest. With herback supported against a tree, and sustained on one side by the youngsentinel whose remissness had suffered Hetty to escape, sat the femalewhose expected visit had produced his delinquency. By the glare of thetorch that was held near her face, it was evident that she was in theagonies of death, while the blood that trickled from her bared bosombetrayed the nature of the injury she had received. The pungent,peculiar smell of gunpowder, too, was still quite perceptible in theheavy, damp night air. There could be no question that she had beenshot. Judith understood it all at a glance. The streak of light hadappeared on the water a short distance from the point, and either therifle had been discharged from a canoe hovering near the land, or it hadbeen fired from the ark in passing. An incautious exclamation, or laugh,may have produced the assault, for it was barely possible that the aimhad been assisted by any other agent than sound. As to the effect, thatwas soon still more apparent, the head of the victim dropping, and thebody sinking in death. Then all the torches but one were extinguished--ameasure of prudence; and the melancholy train that bore the body to thecamp was just to be distinguished by the glimmering light that remained.Judith sighed heavily and shuddered, as her paddle again dipped, andthe canoe moved cautiously around the point. A sight had afflicted hersenses, and now haunted her imagination, that was still harder to beborne, than even the untimely fate and passing agony of the deceasedgirl.

  She had seen, under the strong glare of all the torches, the erect formof Deerslayer, standing with commiseration, and as she thought, withshame depicted on his countenance, near the dying female. He betrayedneither fear nor backwardness himself; but it was apparent by theglances cast at him by the warriors, that fierce passions werestruggling in their bosoms. All this seemed to be unheeded by thecaptive, but it remained impressed on the memory of Judith throughoutthe night. No canoe was met hovering near the point. A stillness anddarkness, as complete as if the silence of the forest had never beendisturbed, or the sun had never shone on that retired region, nowreigned on the point, and on the gloomy water, the slumbering woods,and even the murky sky. No more could be done, therefore, than to seeka place of safety; and this was only to be found in the centre of thelake. Paddling in silence to that spot, the canoe was suffered to driftnortherly, while the girls sought such repose as their situation andfeelings would permit.